FAQ 
 

What does it mean to be fully backed?

Being fully backed means your organization earns the kind of support that matches your vision for its future.
 

When organizations are fully backed, funders understand the scope of the work and where it’s headed, and they commit accordingly. Boards represent the organization with confidence in donor and partner conversations. Leadership teams shift from program-by-program asks to organization-level investment. And, just as importantly, people support the direction of the organization, not just individual initiatives.
 

That shared understanding opens the door to stronger partnerships, more flexible funding, and decisions that no longer shrink the vision to fit what’s easiest to explain.
 

When an organization is fully backed, it can ask for what the work actually requires.
 

How can you help my organization become fully backed?

I help nonprofit leaders articulate what their organization is building and earn transformation-level support to make it happen.
 

This is the fun part. Through a senior-level partnership, we clarify the full picture of the organization, shape an investment-ready future, and prepare leaders, boards, and teams to carry that future into real fundraising and partnership conversations.
 

We’re working toward larger asks, more confident leadership in donor conversations, and funding that reflects the organization as a whole, not just its parts. (I’m looking at you, general operating support.) It also reduces the burden leaders carry when they’re the only ones connecting the dots.

 

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What do you mean by transformation-level support?

Transformation-level support is support that changes what’s possible for your organization.
 

What that looks like depends on the organization and the moment it’s in.
 

For some, it means building enough confidence to make a first six- or seven-figure ask feel grounded and appropriate. For others, it means a board that finally understands the direction of the work and can carry the organization forward without hesitation. In many cases, it’s both, along with funders and partners who want to stay engaged as the work evolves.
 

Here’s the bottom line. (And the part most don’t realize is missing.) Organizations earn transformation-level support when people can clearly see what they’re being asked to stand behind and feel confident doing so in a way that matches the organization’s reality.

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​Is it even possible to earn transformation-level support without a marketing or capital campaign?

Yes, it is possible. But it does require a different way of showing up than most organizations are used to.
 

Campaigns work when people already understand what they’re being asked to stand behind. That’s why so many organizations find capital campaigns more successful, and in many ways easier, than earning meaningful general operating support.
 

The work we do together is different. We’re not putting up billboards or chasing clicks (those tactics have their place). We focus on how the organization shows up around the work itself.
 

What changes is posture.

Leaders are able to show up as partners, not applicants for approval.
They have the words to talk about the work with confidence, not careful qualification.
And they stop relying on one-off campaigns as the only way to earn serious support.
 

We shift the conversation completely. And it opens the door to transformation-level support without the usual campaign machinery.

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Who is this work for?

This work is for nonprofit CEOs and senior leaders who know their organization should be raising more than it currently is and are tired of random marketing and fundraising tactics. 
 

In most cases, these organizations:

• are already operating at a meaningful scale (often $8M+ in annual revenue)

• have capable leadership teams and engaged boards

• do complex, multi-faceted work that’s hard to explain at a higher, organization-wide level

• are being supported for individual programs or pieces of the work, not for the full direction of the organization
   

You may be meeting goals (often challenging teams greatly). You may even be seen as successful. But you feel the ceiling. You know there's more out there. 

And you want funders who understand the work well enough to invest deeply, advocate for it, and stay involved over time.

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How do you usually work with clients?

Most clients work with me through a senior-level partnership.
 

In practice, that means time spent on things that will actually move the organization forward. We work on articulating what the organization is building, preparing leaders and boards for high-stakes conversations, and thinking through how to position the organization in a way that will build confidence and backing. 
 

This isn’t a project with a neat list of deliverables. It’s ongoing, senior-level support that’s customized to your organization, paced appropriately, and focused on real decisions, not just outputs. (And, honestly, there’s usually a lot of thinking out loud along the way.)
 

When’s the right time to bring you in?

When the work is too important not to be fully backed.
 

How can we get started?

The best place to start is with a 30-minute strategy session. We’ll talk about what’s happening inside your organization, what you’re working toward, and whether I’m the right partner to help you get there.